Slowly heading north

We have been on the move this past couple of weeks. We really enjoyed the beach on the Pacific, listening to the waves & watching the whales. We ventured out before 6:00, still dark, to watch the fishermen launch their boats at Playa Los Lobos. There is no actual boat launch, just beach, so they use a truck to pull & push the 26 ft, heavy open boats into a line along the beach. The fishermen start arriving as it gets light ( the boat moving happens before dawn), they load up their gear and the fun begins! The first boat is quickly pushed into the waves by both the truck & several fisherman (of course Robin was right in their to help & almost got run over!), the boat guns it thru the surf & stops. They attach the 2nd boat to the first with a really long rope & they pull it out thru the waves. This continues, daisy-chain style until all 25 or so boats are out. We had to return in the afternoon for their return-this time the boats aim for the shore, gun the motor & run right up onto the beach. The truck then pulls them up over the hump in the beach for the night & the whole process starts again the next morning! Very exciting to watch & you can buy very fresh fish there if you like.

While at this campsite we stopped at an establishment along the hiway called Art & Beer. We had heard that it was interesting, but didn't really know what to expect. We entered & were greeted by the owners, an older couple, both with long grey hair, he with a long beard ("old hippies") We were to order a drink & then wander thru the art - outdoor sculptures, metal work, paintings. We were a bit shocked at the price of a drink- 160 pesos ($13.50)  for a piña colada or margarita, but we were there. We had one of each - and they kept refilling our glasses until we had each drunk a whole blender full! This is how they do it! Then once we had finally finished they proceeded to pour us each a beer into a red Solo cup "for the road"! Luckily we were camped less than 10 km away!

We left that area & moved to Tecolote beach near La Paz, free camping on the beach. We fished from the kayak, I caught 1 trigger fish & 1 Morray eel, about 2 ft. long. This thing wrapped itself around the hook & the line & tied itself into a knot, Robin had to paddle for shore with me holding the eel at the end of the fishing rod. Once we got to shore we offered a beer to anyone who could retrieve my brand new hook & get this thing untangled. The line got cut, the eel unwrapped, the hook was pried from its teeth & it was returned safely to the ocean! We did some hiking up to some caves, Robin did more landscaping - clearing the rocks & adding sand to our path to the beach. A Mexican family was having a picnic close to us, Robin went over with our last booze bird house to offer them shots of Fireball, they got such a kick out of it that he gave them the bird house. Who knows, next time we come here they may be selling them on the streets along with all the other trinkets!

In La Paz we were parking to go for tacos & we agreed to a car wash on the street - they wash the outside of the car (really good job) for less than $4. A strange sight - entertainment while waiting for the traffic lights to change, of course expecting some cash, unicyclist juggling, at night the jugglers use fire. Robin actually broke down & paid for a haircut, all of $5.

We can remove an item off the bucket list - kayaking with whales! We took our kayak out at Lopez Mateos in a 1 km wide inlet where momma & baby whales hang out. We saw quite a few swimming nearby but of course Robin needs to get as close as possible, so we paddled to head one off. I got a picture of it heading our way then set the camera on movie. The HUGE whale swam up right beside the tiny plastic kayak, looked at us, dove down while lifting her LARGE tail up out of the water, soaking us, causing quite a wave. Luckily this didn't swamp our boat, luckily her tail did not smack us - we were shaking & having palpitations for quite a while! Very cool! Unfortunately my movie was not focused the whole time, surprisingly. The underwater picture is a close up of her face/eye, taken from the video.

We have now moved back to Santispac beach, parked right on the water, set up with outdoor kitchen again, the weather is marvellous, 30 C today. We set up the hummingbird feeder as we always do, this time the hummers found it within 30 min. & a pair of orioles found it within 1 hr. We went out kayaking today & were lucky to be surrounded by a pod of dolphins, amazing! We have met several new folks here, one couple showed us where they pick butter clams right here on this beach, we will have them for lunch tomorrow. The tamale & empanadas guy was here this morning as well as the lobster guy - we bought both, can't turn down a kilo of lobster tails for $25. The restaurant on the beach had 2 for 1 Happy Hour today, so 4 beer for $3.30. Luckily this isn't an every day thing! We hope to spend 2 or 3 weeks here, then take another 3 weeks to get home. Hopefully the snow has melted by then!

Still Living the Dream! Adios for now.